A CURSE or FORTUNE 

*    Spent fuel, O&M agreements still pending
*    Nuclear power tariff yet to be fixed
*    Safe operation may need 1,400-1,500 MMCFD gas reserve
*    FAPAD flags Tk 29,600cr irregularities in nine years

Experts say that for a nuclear power plant, simply loading fuel into the reactor or starting electricity generation is not the sole measure of success. The real challenge lies in ensuring long-term safety, economic viability, and waste management. 

Russia has been providing financial, technical, and technological support for this project�"the country's single largest investment. Of the total project cost of approximately Tk 1.14 lakh crore, 90 percent is being financed through a Russian loan, repayable over 28 years. Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom is overseeing the construction through its subcontractor.

The gas supply reality
The wait for electricity from the country's most expensive project to be connected to the national grid is in its final stage. However, on the eve of production, a major new reality has emerged�"to ensure the safe and uninterrupted operation of the plant, the national grid must maintain a substantial amount of spinning reserve at all times, which would require approximately 1,400 to 1,500 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of natural gas.

In such circumstances, Petrobangla considers securing an additional 500 MMCFD of gas nearly impossible. On the other hand, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) maintains that there is no alternative to this gas supply to ensure the safe operation of Rooppur. Given the current energy reality, can the RNPP truly be operated safely and sustainably, it’s a big question.

On June 28, BPDB sent a letter to the Power Division stating that Power Grid Company of Bangladesh PLC (PGCB) had informed BPDB that the first unit of Rooppur would soon be ready for connection to the national grid. To ensure frequency, voltage stability, and operational safety of the national power system, the Russian consulting firm STC UPS has recommended maintaining a minimum spinning reserve of 2,210 megawatts in the power system.

IAEA Report Flags ‘Serious’ Safety Flaws at Rooppur Plant
Bangladesh is preparing for a landmark moment, with the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant tentatively scheduled for nuclear fuel loading on November 6.

The IAEA report, based on a mission from August 10-27, 2025 details serious concerns, including a lack of essential equipment, weak emergency response systems, faulty radiation control, inadequate staff training and extreme mismanagement. 

The investigation also found that mandatory “non-nuclear tests” have not been completed, and many essential tasks remain unfinished. For instance, according to the report.

What is spinning reserve?
Spinning reserve refers to additional power generation capacity that remains connected to the grid but does not operate at full load. If any issue arises at a power plant or demand suddenly surges, this reserve can be activated within seconds or minutes to stabilise grid frequency and prevent load-shedding or blackouts.

The recommendation includes 367 megawatts for Primary Frequency Control (PFC/FGMO) and 843 megawatts for Secondary Frequency Control (SFC/AGC) reserve.
A senior Petrobangla official told that if BPDB is provided with 1,500 MMCFD of gas for power plants, the country's industries and other sectors would become almost paralysed. 

Key agreements still outstanding
Prof. Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam, Senior Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Dhaka, said that the power plant is entering trial production without completing several critical processes. Spent nuclear fuel poses significant risks to human health and the environment. It remains unclear whether Russia will take back this hazardous waste for reprocessing or store it permanently. Furthermore, the cost implications of this process need to be clarified. He also noted that the absence of a finalized Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has left the electricity tariff shrouded in uncertainty.

The mechanisms for plant operation, maintenance procedures, and the formation of the proposed "Waste Management Company" remain unresolved. According to this nuclear expert, these agreements should have been finalized much earlier to ensure maximum safety. 

Officials at the Atomic Energy Commission say tariff determination for a nuclear plant is more complex than for gas- or coal-fired plants, as it involves long-term factors such as loan installments, waste management, and decommissioning costs.

Even the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), which will purchase electricity from the project, has no idea about the possible tariff of electricity from Rooppur NPP.

Experts detected faults 
During plant commissioning, many minor issues come to light. We address and solve these problems, and once the system performs perfectly, the plant moves into production. There is nothing to worry about, the PR representative said.

Loan repayment complications
With a total cost of $12.65 billion, Rooppur is the largest single loan-dependent project in the country's history. Nearly $11.38 billion has come through Russia's Eximbank. However, due to Western sanctions, international transactions with Moscow have become complex, creating uncertainty over loan repayments. While alternative payment mechanisms are being discussed, no effective solution has been reached. Currently, payments due to Russia are being deposited in a special account with Sonali Bank.  With Russia's access to the SWIFT system restricted, there is no way to transfer those funds. Bangladesh Bank officials say the problem is not due to Bangladesh's unwillingness, but because Russian banks cannot receive payments due to sanctions. Thus, even if Rooppur begins generating electricity, this repayment structure complication poses a new financial management crisis. 

Irregularity continues
The irregularities in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the country's most expensive development project, show no signs of stopping. Following the "pillow scandal," a special audit has now unearthed even more astonishing information. Over nine fiscal years, the Foreign Aided Project Audit Directorate (FAPAD) has identified financial irregularities amounting to approximately Tk 29,600 crore against expenditures of about Tk 94,000 crore in the project. In other words, auditors have raised objections regarding roughly one taka out of every three taka spent. During the same period, 230 audit objections were raised in the project, of which 120 alone revolved around the Green City housing project built for Russian citizens.

Sources indicate that work on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project began in July 2016, aiming to generate 2,400 megawatts of electricity from two units. Initially planned for completion by December 2025, the project deadline was later extended to June 2028. The original approved cost of the project was over Tk 1.13 lakh crore, subsequently increased by 22 percent to Tk 1.38 lakh crore. Of the total cost, approximately Tk 94,000 crore was spent over nine years.

According to the audit report, 230 audit objections, with a financial value of about Tk 29,600 crore, were raised from fiscal year 2016-17 to 2024-25. In the first five fiscal years alone, irregularities amounting to Tk 8,606 crore were detected against expenditures of Tk 41,044 crore. In fiscal year 2021-22, objections amounted to Tk 106 crore, which rose to approximately Tk 1,943 crore the following year. The highest number of irregularities was detected in fiscal year 2023-24, when FAPAD raised audit objections worth Tk 15,207 crore against expenditures of Tk 16,648 crore. In the most recent fiscal year, 2024-25, there are audit objections amounting to Tk 3,696 crore.

Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said Russia, the supplier of technical know-how and the lender for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project, is not only a nuclear superpower but also ranks worse than Bangladesh on the global corruption index. The country is identified as being immersed in alarmingly high levels of corruption. In this reality, widespread irregularities, including collusive corruption from top to bottom in project implementation, are not unusual, nor are instances of fraudulent contract violations surprising.